Grossman says the reform plan is not an alternative to the ‘roadmap’ (AFP)

By Abdul Raheem Ali, IOL Staff

CAIRO, March 3 (IslamOnline.net) – The U.S. will not impose any reform recipes on Arab states, and reforms should come from within, the U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs told representatives of Egyptian parties and NGOs on Tuesday, March 2.

Meeting the Egyptians at the official residence of David Welch, the U.S. ambassador in Cairo, to discuss the much-criticized U.S. “Greater Middle East” initiative, Marc Grossman said his administration is keen on getting acquainted with not only the viewpoints of Arab governments but also political players in the region.

He said the American project is not an alternative to the moribund peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, referring to the roadmap, a peace blueprint endorsed by the U.S., the European Union, the United Nations and Russia, well-placed Egyptian sources told IslamOnline.net.

The U.S. initiative came under heavy fire from Arab countries for ignoring the Arab-Israeli conflict.

They averred that in order to create a climate favorable to the success of the reform process, the Palestinian cause should be settled and Israeli occupation of Arab territories come to an end.

Phillip Frayne, the press attaché in the U.S.  Embassy, told IOL that the meeting was primarily aimed at spelling out the initiative broad lines and making clear that Washington had no intention to enforce its reform formula on the region.

He said it is very important for the Bush administration to take the pulse of the region over the project and explain its own point of view by addressing the governments and civil society in each country.

The Egyptian sources refused to elaborate on who attended the brainstorming session, but put at 20 the number of attendees, with the absence of the Muslim Brotherhood.

It was not immediately clear whether the embassy invited representatives from the government banned but tolerated group to the session.

The head of the opposition Al-Tagmu Party, Refaat El-Sayeed, boycotted the meeting over staunch opposition to the U.S. initiative.

Shuttle Diplomacy

Grossman’s visit to Egypt is part of a shuttle diplomacy launched to drum up support for the initiative.

He arrived earlier Tuesday in Cairo coming from Morocco. The multi-leg tour will also take him to Jordan and Bahrain.

Grossman, number three in the State Department, will also be going to Turkey and Brussels, seat of the EU and NATO, which Washington wants as partners in its Middle East plans.

Turkish journalists said the Bush administration gave Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the green light  during his visit to Washington in January 2004 to promote the initiative in view of Turkey's pivotal role in the plan and the region.

President George W. Bush wants to make the initiative a center piece of the G8 summit of industrialized nations at Sea Island, Georgia, in the southeastern United States in June.

The initiative’s architects claim the project aims to encourage democratic reform and economic opening in the Arab world and other Muslim countries with an eye toward abating the frustration and poverty on which international terrorism thrives.

Those accepting the reforms will receive support and preferential treatment from Washington and its main western allies, according to the plan, which the U.S. has up until now unveiled only its broad lines.